Thermo Fisher Scientific is to showcase its clinical assay for Procalcitonin (PCT), which aids in the risk assessment of critically ill patients with sepsis at the 40th Critical Care Conference 2011.
PCT is a protein biomarker that can be detected in human serum and plasma in cases of severe sepsis and septic shock.
The Brahms PCT assay is said to enable rapid and accurate risk assessment of the condition, which is of particular benefit to intensive care units in hospitals.
Thermo Fisher Scientific will showcase the Brahms PCT biomarker assay during the Society of Critical Care Medicine 2011 event on 15-19 January in San Diego.
Sepsis is characterised by a whole-body inflammatory state due to a systemic infection.
PCT is a protein that can be used as a marker for sepsis caused by severe bacterial infections.
Unlike other sepsis biomarkers, it can be elevated much earlier in the condition.
Blood samples can be prepared and analysed in 19 minutes and patient results delivered one hour from taking the blood sample.
In addition, levels of PCT in the human body correlate to the severity of the infection, enabling a more accurate and detailed assessment.
According to a meta-analysis of studies, the PCT biomarker assay made a significant contribution to clinical risk assessment in sepsis in critically ill patients when admitted to the ICU.
At a decision-making point of 2ng/ml, PCT displayed a sensitivity of 99 per cent and a specificity of 77 per cent in differentiating patients on their first day of ICU admission with SIRS and sepsis from those with severe sepsis and septic shock.
One of the main benefits of PCT is that it is specific to severe bacterial infections, and does not rise in cases of viral infection.
Therefore, application of PCT in Europe and the rest of the world has also been shown to accurately predict the absence of the condition early in the diagnosis stage, reducing costs and unnecessary antibiotic use.
